Splitting of the Entente Cordiale
In the ashes of post-war Europe, the British Empire and French Republic emerged as the battered victors of the greatest conflict to ever erupt on the continent. The post-war treaty that dismembered the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and German Empires only highlighted disagreements that quickly became apparent between the British and French delegations. Intervening in the war to 'protect' the neutral nation of Belgium from German attack, many believe that the British Government joined with the intention of simply destroying any naval competition that was being presented by the German Government, using the attack on Belgium as a pretext for their own intervention. As such, in the post-war peace treaty the British delegation wished mainly to limit Germany’s ability to ever challenge the Royal Navy again, but in time their focus was to be drawn to a far more threatening situation. The French Republic was destroyed by the Great War, suffering horrendous casualties in a conflict that dragged on for five long years. Their chief priority in the post-war treaty was to prevent the Germans from ever again challenging France for dominance over mainland Europe. At first, the Entente delegation agreed unanimously that Alsace and Lorraine would be returned to French control, with a joint Inter-Allied occupation of the Rhineland area being established to limit German industry, which by the war's end had significantly eclipsed even the United Kingdom. The partition of Germany was not halted there however, with the newly independent Polish state being granted Posen, parts of Silesia and some bordering land in Eastern Prussia. Additionally the Danish Government - who had entered the war near its end - was supported firmly by the British delegation and occupied as far south as Hamburg, with a joint occupation commission for the Kiel Canal being set up between the British and Danish Governments. With Germany weakened so much, and the Italian Government firmly on the side of the French representatives - due to their tacit support for all Italian demands in the Treaty of London - the British Government quickly realised they had made a colossal blunder in the peace negotiations. With no rival power to offset the French in mainland Europe, the continent was de-facto placed under French influence. Britain's own influence on the continent was limited, and extended only over the Portuguese, Greek and Danish nations. Fears began to spread within the British Government. Had the Great War been fought only to hand control of Europe over to the French, something Britain had fought barely a century before to prevent? Media and public opinion was split: many believed that the alliance with France would prevent another war breaking out, but others feared that by recognising French influence over the continent the British Empire would abdicate its own leadership position. It wouldn't be long before disagreements over the future of Europe were to only widen the rapidly worsening relations between the British and French nations, with the French failure in the Rif War and British opposition to the intervention marking one of the first times both nations found themselves on opposing sides internationally since the signing of the Entente Cordiale itself. It would take just under a decade - it was not marked with a particular date or a particular time - but the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France would fade away under the pressure of differences between the British and French in the post-war world. In 1936, the Italian, Rhineland and French nations are all that remain of the former Entente alliance members. The British Government establishing their own rudimentary and make-shift agreement - the Imperial Protection Alliance - to defend against colonial competition overseas. In practise, the IPA consists of only the British Empire as a whole, and is viewed by its critics as nothing but a mafia preying on the weaker nations of the world. Despite these disagreements, hope remains both in the British and French Governments that these issues can be paved over, and that the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France may live again.